Braiding machine



June 17, 1930.

W. C. WRIGHT El AL BRAIDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 9, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l I INVENTOR June l7, 1930. w, c, WR Er AL BRAIDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 9; 1929 4 Sheets Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY BRAIDING MACHINE Filgd Aug. 9, 1929 v 4 sheets-sheet s v ATTORNEY w. c. WRIGHT AL BRAIDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 9, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I N VEN T O R I q f (4 E a I ATI QRNEY L Patented June 17, 1930 UNITED STATES PAT s r rrioE WILLIAM eQsKEY wemmr AND JOHN F. SGHENCK, SR, or LewNnA-LE, NORTH CAROLINA BRAIDING MACHINE Application med August .9, 1929. Serial No. 384,5{572 The present invention relates to improvements in braiding machines, that is .to say, machines for making braided ropes and cords. According to the invention separate sets of strand spools are provided, the strand spools of one set .heing located .alterliatefly with the strand .spoolsof the other set ,ah U a oommon axis, novel means being prod d o otating oth sets vof spoo the .10 same di ection, .and .a support being pro vided for one of said 653%; which set is r0- tated as a tin-it, .a'llybeing so IdiSlDQSQ d that the fliers of one set will he so moved in timed. relation @as to not interfere with ,thefliersof 15, the other set. and thus deliver the strands .to form the braid in proper timed relation with all parts moving in the same generel .direction. Another object o this invention is the provision of a novel .meens ,for rigidly ,srrpporting the upper ends of the .bobh n and flier carrying members so thatsaid members will be maintained in their relative positions at all timesend ;.thus make it possihle to run th machine at ighe e s fsr s t e-i is poss-ihle in the ease of machines having no s mp rem S i l mw he o ject o h p i en in ntion th IprQVislQh of gr novel .arrengeineiit of gear supporting means and -.d ive v or the HPFGI bobbins and fliers which will permit the fliersot-the lower bohhins to pass between the gear .snpporti g .means so not to :in-teratere with the even grunningof vthe presentmachiiie.

I Still another. ohieet of the present ill-Vention is the provisiono a novel means for p odu ing the neces ary in hereinpleterl hr nd the teedir g of the .s 4 away ,fremthe msohineso as to lieprop rly coiled.

S ill an h bje 751 1 P .tion is the provision of gear {I prising seipar-ahle 1neinhers, :thu s ina possible to replace:"Worn, nounts without .a complete dismantling of the machine, wgile still (another .is the pro. 's on .of a threadsupportnnd tension. equalizer tor the threads-that insi es thepifoper delivery of sent the threadsiet the desire tens i i htm proceeds,the invention resides in the combination and arrangements of parts and in the details of constructlon herei lefter described and claimed, it being understood that I changes in the precise em'bodimentof the invention herein disclosed can he made withiii the scope of What is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Inthe accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is e view; partly in, section and partly'in elevation, 01: a complete inachine made according to landenihodying the pres ent invention; j

- Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 2+2 of Fig.1; g

Figiire 3 is a section taken onthe line of Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of .the strend guiding member and shows diagrammatically thepath of travel of theseveral fliers,

v Figu e '5 is a sectional view on a larger scaleythe F g h ugh one o the g m" ings and the d'jaoent portions of two other casings showing the relationship of the bobbin and flier operating gear in saidcasing to the segmental gears associated therewith;

Figure 6 is a view, partly in section and partlyfin elev ation,.of the structure shown in Fig. 5 with the lower portion of the upper bobbin and flier in position;

Figures? and 8 are detailed perspective views oft-he na n'portion oi oneof the gear casings and one of the segmental gear mountgs; I v

Figure -9 is an enlarged sectional View through thepnter telescopic sleeve or shaft to which the lower hohhin'andfiier m etaehed; g

' Figure 10 is a top plan VlQW of the sleeve orshaitshovvn in Fig. 9 I

'Figure llis a diagrammatic viewor" the gearing .imd rollersfor receiving the finished braid; f 7

l igure 121s atop plan view of the gearing ah" rollers s'hown in F g-"l Y Referringto the drawings, the numeral M designates the base plate of the present machine which has uprising therefrom a plurality of supports 15 for the annular internal gear 16, While disposed concentricallyof this support and projecting upwardlyfrom the base 14 is a cylindrical pedestal or rod 17 attached to the base by means of the annulus 18.

Also mounted upon the base and extending thereabout is a frame composed of the uprights 19 and the cross bar 20.

Journalled in the lower portion of one of the uprights 19 is the main drive shaft 21 which is also journalled in a pair of supports 22 and 22 and is provided with a bevel gear 24 which drives a bevel gear 25 on the lower end of a vertical shaft 26 which at its upper end drives the worm gearing 27. This worm gearing operates a small spur gear 28 which in turn engages a larger spur gear 29 fastened to the shaft 30. This shaft is journalled in a bracket 30 supported from the cross bar 20 and having mounted therein the braid receiving and feeding mechanism 31, a detailed description of which will appear later.

Mounted for rotation upon the lower end of the fixed shaft or pedestal 17 is a sleeve 32 which has a disk 33 formed integral therewith. A bevel gear 34 keyed to the sleeve 32 meshes with and is driven by a bevel gear 35 keyed to the shaft 21, so that as the shaft 21 is rotated the disk 33is also rotated.

Keyed to the pedestal 17 above the disk 33 is the hub 36 of a large gear 38,which gear, as illustrated in Fig. 1, meshes at all times with a plurality of smaller gears 40, the purpose of which will presently appear.

Attached to the pedestal 17 above and in spaced relation to the gear 38 is a limiting collar 37 which supports the rotary hub 37 of a spider and spacing member 39, which is provided with a plurality of ring supports 39, one'for each of the lower bobbin and flier carrying members 48.

A plurality of fixed shafts 41 extend upwardly from the disk 33 through the ring supports 39. These shafts 41 support the vanous bobbin and flier carrying members which will now be described. I

An inner sleeve 40 is mounted on each of the shafts 41 and carries upon its lower end a gear 40 which is in mesh at all times and is driven by the fixed gear 38 as the disk 33 is rotated about the shaft 17. Each sleeve 40' carries at its upper end a driving gear disposed in a gear casing 42 which is attached by a nut 43 to the upper end of each fixed shaft 41.

Disposed telescopically upon each sleeve 40 is an outer sleeve 48 which in turn has a gear 49 keyed thereon adjacent its lower end above the gear 38 and engaging at all times the fixed annular gear 16, so that, when the disk 33' is rotated, the gears 49 and the sleeves 48 are rotated by the annulargear 16.

Mounted upon each sleeve 48 adjacent its upper end is a bushing 48 which rotates with in one of the rings 39 of the supporting spider 39 which, as the disk 33 is rotated, is also rotated through the shaft 41 and sleeves 40 and 48. By this means the spider 39 forms an additional support for the upper ends of the rotating members makes it possible to operate themachine at a greater speed without impairing the accuracy of the operation of the fliers and the final manufacture of the braided product.

As shown in Figures 5 and 7, each gear casing 42 has a pair of lateral openings from which project pairs of oppositely disposed wings 43 which are constructed as arcs of a circle, the center of each pair of which, as

will presently appear, is a shaft 52, and in these wings are fitted the respective segmental gear guides or members 44, said wings and gear guides having aligned openings 46 and 46 to receive bolts or other fastenings to hold the members 44 within the wings so as to provide spaces S between the ends of the wings of adjacent gear casings when the present device is properly'assembled with the casings 42 attached to the upper end of the fixed shafts 41.

I It will thus be seen that the gears 50 carried by the upper ends of the sleeves 40 are housed within the casings 42 and that, when each segmental gear 51, which is here shown as a half gear, is in mesh with one of the gears 50, it will be rotated by said gear 50 until it enters the adjacent supporting member 44 of the adjacent gear casing 42, at which time it will be engaged by the gear 50 in the latter casing by which its rotation will be continued in the same direction, This is of the utmost importance as the members 44 have opposed lips 44 to receive flanges 51' on the opposite faces of the segmental gears 51 and. direct the passage thereof from one member 44 to the other in a continuous rotary movement I An upwardly extending stub shaft 52 is secured to each of the gears 51 by. a nut 53 and carries a flier-carrying member 54 having its respective flier 55 and the bobbin 56.

Attached to and rotatable with the sleeves I 48 in the usual manner are the bobbin supports 57 and 57 for the lower bobbins 58, While upon the opposite side of each shaft is a guide 59 so thatthe strands 60"from the lower bobbins 58 maybe properly delivered past the guides 61, 62 andthe rollers 63, 64

to the fliers 65, the upper ends 66-of the struction the fixed shaft 41 and the telescopic sleeves and48 are supported proper spaced-relation at their upper ends and braced by the spider 39 andthat, th-ereiore, the present device may be operated at high speedwithout causing the upper ends ot-the shafts ll andthe sleeves 410 and 48 tabs deflected by centrifugal force, as would occurin the absence of a support for the upper on is of such parts. i

It is also apparent that suppcrating the gear casings a2 uponthe upper ends of the fixed shafts ell, the proper spaces 8 for the passage of the respective fliers is provided between the respective casings, and that the segmental gears are also efficiently supported, the rotation of said segmental ears being" so timed as to :clear the spaces between the ends of the wings 43 of adjacent gear casings l2 and permit the passage through such spaces of the fliers 6:5 and to obstruct said spaces only when the fliers are exteriorly thereof or are about to enter or leave the same,as. shown in Figs. 2 and 4:. 1

It is desirable in a machine of this type that the braid receiving and feeding mechanism or device 31 shall. so receive and feed the braid as to producethe necessary tension thereon and at the same time carry it away fromthe bobbins as formed, and in'order to do this, the mechanism shown Figures 1, .11 and. 12 is employed. As there shown, the rollers 69, and 71 are provided, the roller 70 being mounted in the swinging arms 70 to bear against the roller '69, and the rollers 69 and 71 each having a plurality. ofgrooves in their peripheriea'in which grooves the completed braid is seated as it passes several times around said rollers after its passage through the guide 68. The roller '71 being keyed to the shaft 30, is the driving roller; and, in order that the rollers 69, 70 and 71 shall rotate at the same speed,a gear'74 mounted on one end of the roller 71 drives (an intermediate gear 73, which in turn drivesa'rgear 72 on'one end of the roller 69;. The intermediate gearl'f)? also drives a second-intermediate gear- 75 which in turn drives the gear 760i the roller 7-0, all as particularly illustrated in-Fig. 11, Thus the rollerTO will always be positively driven whether in contact with the cord or braid passing around-the rollers 71 and '69, and will be permittedmovement toward and away from the roller 69, due to-the mounting thereof in the free ends ofthe swinging arms 70. I A a p o The rollers 69, '70 and fithgerel'ore serve not only to deliver the finished braid but also to draw such braid through thegu-ide The circular guide .6? acts to take care of any slack and prevents tanglingol the strands as they pass from the rotating flyers 55 and (55, as it assists in stretching said strands from the bobbins to the central guide 68. The guide :67 therefore forms a thread support and tension equalizer and is most important in a'niac'hin'e ofthis type in which the rotating members are operated at such high speeds. I r J r 7.

Since the gear guides and supporting receptacles are detachable, they may be easily replaced when too :muclrworn and without dismantling the entire machine, as the bolts that secure them in place readily removed to permit themto be cisco'nnected and replaced by new ones. This is very important, because in machines as constructed at present, the entire supporting casting must be removed and replaced.

The present construction of machine permits the driving of the sets of bobbins in the same direction by the employment of a driving gear for each set, both of which are stationary,-thus permitting the employment oi the two telescoped sleeves, one foreach bobbin, which are operated in timedrelation and without interference, the provision of the bracing spider 39- being also made possible by this particular arrangement.

"We claim: 1

1. In a vbraiding machine, the combination of a pedestal, a rotary carriage mounted thereon, means for rotating the carriage, a plurality of fixedvertical shafts mounted in and carried by said earriage, two telescopic. tubular shat-ts mounted-upon each fixed shaft, cooperating driving means for the outertelescopic shafts connected to said shafts and in the path thereof, cooperating driving means for the inner telescopic shafts connected to said shafts and to the pedestal, and means mounted upon the upper portion of the 'pecL es-talfland embracing all of the telescopic sliafts to brace theupper ends of the shafts against relat've circumferential and radial displacement.- e e I 21" In abraiding 'mac hine according to claim 1, in which thread feeding means are carried by the outer telescopic shafts, a second set of thread feedingnieansare operatively-connected to the inner telescopic shafts, and means is provided for permitting the first thread 'feedingmeansto have passageway through the latter thread feeding means.

In a braiding machine according to claim 1, in which a braid receiving means is operated in timed relation to the carriage.

4'. In a braiding machine according to 7 claim 1, in which the braid receivingmeansincludes twogear connected, grooved, convey-ing' and'slack ta king rollers, and means connected thereto for driving the rollers in timed relation to the car-riage. W

A braiding machine having-separatesets 7 l1 of strand supplies, the strand supplies of one set being located alternately with the strand.

supplies of the other set about a common axis, means for rotating bothsets of supplies in the same direction, one ofsaid sets having supports and being rotated as a unit and the other set comprising bobbins and fliers, and

means for rotating said fliers about adjacent bobbins, said supports comprising two spaced and supported sectionalcasings with which the adjacent fliers register, and a segmental gear mounted in each casing and movable in timed relation with such flier so that each gear unobstructs the space between the casing in proper timed relation to permit the each gear casing and meshing directly with two of said segmental gears to be driven in timed relation with the fliers.

7. A braiding machine according to claim 5, inwhich there are a plurality of vertical fixed supports disposed in cooperating pairs, a sectional gear casing fixedto the upperend of each fixed'support, two segmental winged portions, projecting from substantially opposite sides and providing flier receiving spaces between adjacent casings, a segmental gear mounted in adjacent winged portions of each two gear casings, and a drive gear mounted in each gear casing and meshing directly with two of said segmental gears to be driven in timed relation with the fliers, so that each drive gear assists the preceding drive gear in imparting continuous rotation to a single segmental gear, and the segmental gear acts to obstruct and free the space between the adj acent winged portions of the two sectional gear casings.

; V .8. In a braiding machine, the combination of a pedestal, a rotary carriage mountedthereon, means for rotating the carriage, a plurality of fixed vertical shafts mounted in and carried by said carriage, a telescopic shaft mounted on each fixed shaft, cooperating driving means for the telescopic shafts, and

' one set being located alternately with the strand supplies of the other setabout a common axis, one of said sets being supported on segmental gears which travel in segmental raceways attached to casings mounted on standards around the upper ends of which and concentric therewith revolve drive gears which mesh direct in the said segmental gears.

10. In a braiding machine wherein a plural-.-

11. In a braiding machine wherein strands from a plurality of bobbins rotatable around a common axis are successively laid upon one another, means for drawing and delivering the formed braid comprising a pair of spaced rollers around which successive loops of formed braid pass and rotating on substantiallyparallel axes located in a plane at an angle to said first named axis, each of said rollers having a plurality of peripheral braid receiving grooves, and means for imparting rotation to said rollers. j

12. In a machine according to claim 11, a third roller mounted toswing toward and away from the periphery of one of the grooved rollers and positively driven from the other grooved roller.

13. In a braiding machine, a plurality of sets of bobbin carriers and flyers, the bobbin carriers and associated flyers ofeach set being unitarily' rotatable arounda common center to apply the strands therefrom upon one another, each bobbin carrier of one set being in: dividually rotatable coaxially with a bobbin carrier of the other set, means for continuously drawing and delivering the formed braid, and a circular member between said strand applying means and braid drawing means over which the strands from said fliers pass paths traversed by the delivery ends of the fliers of both sets of bobbin carriers.

14. A braiding machine comprising a pair of sets of strand-supplying means, a plural- 1 ity of strands around each ofwhich a strand supplying means of one of said sets is rotatable, each strand applying means of the other set being movable in a circular path between a pair of adjacent standards, a casing detachably mounted on each of saidfstandards,g{a raceway detachably mounted on each of said standards, a raceway detachably mounted in each of said casings, gears rotatable in said casings concentric respectively, with said standards, and segmental gears each supporting a strand supplying means of one of said sets and driven by said gears.

In testimony whereof We have hereunto set our hands. 7

WILLIAM OOSKEY WRIGHT; JOHN F. SCHENGK, sR. 

